Warning: Graphic Violence. This is probably the most violence I'll have in one chapter.

I was so busy beating myself up I didn't even notice them until they spoke.

"Hey look!" My head flew up in surprise, seeing two figures ahead in the night, one pointing at me. "It's that pretty lady that danced for us!"

By their slurs it was easy to tell they were intoxicated. "Hey! Hey girl we're talking to you!" his friend spoke up. I slunk to the other wall of the dark alley, a slow panic feeling unraveling in my stomach. I just need to get to my car, I thought calmly.

They'd managed to stumble closer. "Oh you're beautiful," the closest said, dull green eyes squinted. "How about a dance for me and my buddy?" His friend wearing a leather jacket barked a laugh from behind Green Eyes' shoulder.

I set my teeth and put on my mean face, stuffing fear in a box in the back of my mind. "How about you two drunks get back to you cozy cardboard box under the bridge?"

I saw anger flash in Green Eyes' face and brought my hands to my face just in time. "Ooh!" he cooed, catching my wrists in a death grip. "We've got a feisty one!" I glared and tried to pull my hand out.

"Let's rephrase our offer," Leather Jacket said, coming around to the side. "As payback for what your friends did to our friends a while ago, you give us the sweetest dance you can." He smiled disgustingly, the smell of alcohol overbearing.

The words dropped a rock in my stomach. They had to be friends with Blondie from a while back, but how did they know it was me?

"Let me go," I growled. "The bouncers aren't far at all, and I'm sure they'd be happy to dispose of you like they did you friend." I might've sounded tough, but it was all a bluff. The guards had all left, and besides I was too far for them to hear anything anyways.

"Oh look," Green Eyes laughed. "It's so cute when you try to lie."

I felt my eyes widen in fear before I could stop them. What?

"We've been looking forward to meeting you, so we made sure we wouldn't be interrupted," Leather Jacket added, circling around me. He came into view and split a sickening smile. "We've got all the time in the world, baby. Let's see you move!"

I didn't even see the punch coming. Colliding on the asphalt I felt my body get skinned, my face blazing with pain. Back on my feet in an instant I got into a fighting stance, ditching my bag for the time being. What the hell is up with the drunks I run into? They always want to pick a fight!

"I guess this kitty got claws too," one of them said, his friend pawing at the air and mewling stupidly. I rolled my eyes.

I felt more pain spreading from my ribcage. Stumbling back I clutched the spot. "Don't think it's funny?" Leather Jacket called, rubbing his knuckles from the hit.

"So, you gonna dance for us yet?" Green Eyes came over, standing dangerously close and right next to his friend.

I hesitated, glaring at the two. No one was nearby, but these two were heavily intoxicated, even if they did hit hard. Decidedly I sucked in a huge breath and spat at them. "That's my answer."

Dark eyes looked up threateningly, and fear jumped out of its box.

I'm not sure how they had moved so fast, but suddenly two huge feet landed on my stomach, sending me flying back from their kicks. I cried out when I smacked against the brick wall and fell to a half-standing position. I knew being low was bad and tried to stand – but the thugs weren't having it.

Grabbing hold of my arm, one of them yanked me away from the wall and threw me down on the cement again. "Come on, sweetie, show us what you got," he said menacingly.

I hadn't even placed my hands to push myself up when I felt a solid kick to the rib cage. I was sure I felt a crack. "Ahh!" I huffed out, too little breath in my lungs to scream. Curling in on myself I tried to ignore the horrible pains in my torso and on my arms and face. Get up, I told myself sternly. If you can't fight then run, idiot!

"You know, I almost feel bad about this, man," one of them said strangely as I began to prop myself up. "Right now it's just spoiling the goods." I felt a dead weight drop in my stomach, looking at the closest one fearfully.

"Aw, it's not spoiling her," Leather Jacket said, stumbling over and yanking my face up to his. "We're just playin', getting' her warmed up," he mumbled as he looked into my face with a sick grin.

I took my chance then. I pulled his arm down with a hand, swinging a fist into the side of his face with the other. Trying my best to ignore the pains I stood up, letting loose my leg to fly into his body. I might not be able to punch as hard as them, but when it came to kicks I was the clear winner.

"Bitch!" Green Eyes slurred somewhere from behind me. I felt his hand smack my arm as I danced out of the way, turning to face him. His brows were furrowed hideously, his face starting to turn red as he came at me.

I brought my fists to my face for protection, knocking away his first swing and slamming his jaw with one of my own. He stumbled back at the hit like he didn't realize what had happened when I noticed his friend was getting up.

Another twang of nervous fear shot through my body; I'd never fought two semi-strong people at the same time. Determined, I clamped down on my emotions to prepare myself for a brawl.

Green Eyes being closer came at me first – the look in his eyes pure rage. I ducked under his blow and landed my two hits deep in his stomach. Standing straight again I pulled my leg back and launched. My foot connected with his thigh rather than his knee, but it was good enough – he was reeling back and his friend was nearly on me.

I snapped back into a protective stance just in time, my elbows blocking a low hit to my ribcage. Distracted by the close save I was too slow to see his hook, catching my on the cheek.

Pain exploded outward from the contact spot but I whipped my head forward again, trying to blink stars away. This time I caught his wrist, just brushing my shoulder, and slammed a punch into his ribcage. He bent over to favor the hit and I turned to the side. Bringing my leg up so it was curled and parallel to the ground, I kicked out with as much force as I could get out, hitting his shoulder with my heel and sending him to the ground.

Breathing heavily, I stood normally again, rubbing at my face and trying not to irritate the tender spots. My heart was beating crazy fast and I'd only felt this sort of adrenaline when I was in a soccer game or up on stage. But this was different – it was dangerous to be here, and made the chemicals in my bloodstream that much sweeter to me. I knew I needed to leave and I would as soon as I got the chance, but if given the chance I wouldn't ever let go of this feeling.

I heard one of them groan loudly as they stood unsteadily, the other already up. I brought my fists up again and angled my body, the pain already going to the back of my mind in the rush of the moment.

"Bitch, we're going to beat you to a bloody pulp," Green Eyes said. I glared.

"Now see," Leather Jacket started, circling around me slowly. "Your parents must be disappointed in you; staying out late, getting into fights, teasing all the men in the club. They must hate you," he laughed stupidly.

I felt my heart drop instantly, and I swear it skipped two beats. A deep, sad anger started to bubble in my stomach as he spoke the words, and by the time he had finished I was ready to explode.

"You don't know anything about who my parents were!" I shouted at them, tears beginning to form as I dove into him. He wasn't prepared for my attack so I was able to land all of the swings I aimed.

His friend came from behind, roaring in anger, grabbing my elbows and dragging me off his partner. I landed a kick in the crotch on Leather Jacket, and when his friend was less focused I swung an elbow back – hard – and felt it connect to the side of his face. He let go instantly and I spun around, attacking him with the same enraged fury that I had his friend.

The anger from their comment fueled my muscles, firing up every time I pulled back. My parents loved me!, I screamed in my head at them, holding back tears to see clearly. They loved me and I could do nothing to save their lives! How dare you say something a week after their deaths! How DARE you!

I couldn't seem to stop throwing punches and kicks. Their hits didn't even faze me though I could feel dull spikes of pain all over. Ducking, spinning, dodging, kicking, and hitting were coming as easy as breathing for me.

I finally beat them back a few feet from where I stood, two steps from my duffel bag, breathing heavily and glaring. One of them had a bloody nose and the other's face was starting to swell. Now that I had taken a step back from the fight, all the pain was magnified; underneath the bruised and swelling skin my muscles were tired. I need to finish this soon, I thought, not wanting to think of how I'd fair if I got too tired.

"What the hell was that, man?" Green Eyes panted, squinting up at me with hate.

I felt the dangerous anger billow up in me again, nearly blocking out the pain. The fresh memories and hurt of loss raked against my raw insides. Images of the fire engulfing my house took up my vision, and I blinked it away as quickly as possible. "You chose the wrong night to mess with me," I growled angrily, my voice thick with the recent memories.

They straightened themselves and rushed me again. I was ready. I sidestepped a wild blow from Green Eyes by turning my body with quick steps, slamming a tight fist into his stomach. I ducked from his friend's swing and used my momentum to level my leg and swing it around to his legs.

Leather Jacket hit the ground on his butt with a groan. I straightened myself instantly, moving behind Green Eyes and chopping at the base of his neck. I couldn't remember if a blow like that could kill someone or not, but at this point I didn't care.

With a loud cry his hand flew up to his neck and he stumbled drunkenly away. I took a moment to allow myself a quick grin of satisfaction, my body's pain seeping into my consciousness again.

Of course, it was the one moment I let my guard down that I was sent flying forward from a hard hit on my legs. There was only enough time for me to gasp in surprise and throw my arms in front of me before I skidded on the asphalt once again. Leather Jacket wasn't keen on me getting up again and made sure to land a heavy hit to my stomach.

"Ahh!" I cried out weakly as he stumbled back a few steps to regroup with his friend. I could feel sweat and blood coming from my arms and legs, making my injuries burn. The stinging was really nothing compared to what my muscles were enduring; it was like I had entered a never-ending conditioning day for soccer. I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to go.

I stood up, wincing at the pains throughout my body. Panting, I put up two fists and clenched as hard as I could. Standing my ground I looked at the two thugs and prepared myself for one more round.

"Oh, that's cute," Green Eyes said, wiping something off his lip. He sounded livid. "Aren't you just adorable?"

"This is it, girl," Leather Jacket added menacingly as he rolled his shoulders. "No more playing around."

I simply tightened my mouth and pulled my brows down further. Without any warning Leather Jacket started walking towards me, this time not making any wild movements. When I tried to throw the first punch he simply yanked my arm out of the way and slammed his own punch into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me again.

I wanted to crumple to my knees with the fresh wave of pain that overcame me but fought against it. I lashed out blindly and got a hit on the face in response. Reeling back, I had no time to be ready for his friend, who wasted no time in punching the other side of my face. This time I really cried out, louder than before. The pain was instant and gave me a splitting headache I knew I wouldn't be able to get rid of for a while. Dammit, and there's no aspirin in the car!

Blinking fast, I was able to clear my vision just in time to dodge another punch to the face, turning so it hit my shoulder instead. I cringed at the impact but I knew the fresh pain would melt with the old pain soon. I took the chance to flick a kick up into Green Eyes' stomach, though I could tell it didn't do much.

The force of the kick was more than I had expected, the momentum sending me falling on my back. Oh no, no, no!, I thought frantically as I scrambled to get up. This is not good! Get up, Shay! Get UP!

Suddenly my arms were removed from under me, making my back crash against the ground again. A sharp electric pain ran up and down my spine, making me gasp and start to see stars. Shit, I need to get out of here, but I can't even stand up! I should've taken the chance to run when I had it! Dammit!

In my agony I tried to roll over onto my side to give myself a better chance to launch off the ground. But there was a heavy foot that shoved me onto my back at the last moment.

"Oh, you're not getting away from us," Leather Jacket said threateningly, making my stomach turn ice cold in the summer night. I squinted up at him through sweat and pain, and was met with only an angry expression on his face – that scared me the most.

He shoved me with his foot again and my body, now limp with pain and soreness, flopped obediently around. I coughed into the ground, curling in on myself at the tightness in my chest and stomach the action caused. Blinking rapidly I was sure I spotted some blood on the ground where I'd just coughed. I groaned.

Before I knew what was happening, my arms were ripped back, ruthlessly yanking my body into the air. "Ahh!" I yelled out, a hitch coming into my voice at the end. "Please, stop! What're you doing?" Terror was consuming me now that I had no energy left to run or fight and was caught between two very angry drunks. To say I feared for my life would be an understatement.

Whoever was behind me – Leather Jacket, I was sure – pinned my elbows together behind me, making me yelp at the slashes of pain in my shoulders. I saw Green Eyes stumble in front of me, a sick look on his face. I felt my eyes go wide and my mouth form a small o in absolute fear of what was coming next.

He let loose the arm he had pulled back and it slammed full force onto the edge of my cheek. Once again agony erupted from the spot, dancing over my eye and head. I pulled my head back, letting it hang limply and panting. I tried to struggle out of his friend's grip on my arms, but he only held harder, making my arms hurt even more.

Green Eyes didn't even wait for me to begin to recover. Next the wind was knocked out of me again, only I wasn't able to get it back until after his hits all over my ribcage. The area I'd felt crack before made itself more known, throbbing in time with my frantic heartbeat – which was frighteningly slowing and becoming less rhythmic.

I did my best to get the stars and black spots out of my vision but they were becoming too large for me to handle. All I could feel was the summer night's heat, sweat, blood, and pain. Each new hit that landed, whether it be on my head, torso, or a random kick every now an then, was beginning to lose the effect it had on me and blended in with the soreness of my body. I was getting weaker and weaker and it scared me, but at that moment simply leaving this place was the best thing I could think of.

I don't know how it happened, but a hard punch from Green Eyes aimed at my head sent me to the ground – I guess Leather Jacket had let me go and I didn't realize it. The new scrapes were already beginning to seep with blood, but at this point I didn't even care. If they could just leave me alone lying here then I would be happy.

Something seemed to have gotten their attention – from the tilted angle my head was at, I saw them both look over their shoulders. Their mouths started moving, spit flying, but I couldn't understand a single word in their jumbled shouts and yells. God, just go away, I cried pathetically in my head, trying not to distress the extreme headache. Just leave me alone here.

Then I heard a familiar voice saying something – no, it was calling something, looking for something. I felt like it was important to respond, but maybe it could wait after I had a short nap. It's the least I deserved after what I'd just been through.

But the voice wouldn't go away. It shouted out again and I realized through my daze that it was two voices, and then more joined it. They stopped calling, instead sounding urgent and . . . getting closer?

A shadow passed over my view of the stars and suddenly my world was spun around again. There was pressure against my back and on my shoulders, pulling me up for a second before letting me rest again. But this time I was propped up against something. I had to admit it was more comfortable, but why would my attackers do such a thing? They'd just beat the crap out of me after all.

Confused, I squinted up, trying my best to ignore the twinges in my neck that caused my head to feel worse. It took a while but eventually everything stopped moving and the picture cleared only to have my stomach drop in dread even more at the familiar sight.

It was Kaoru, though I'd never seen his face so distorted by worry, fear, anger, and so many other emotions. I saw his lips moving and concentrated. "Shay," he whispered shakily, tightening his arms that were holding me against him. "Shay, you gotta stay with us!"

"Come on, don't let go!" a similar voice said. I dropped my head down slowly so as to not dizzy myself and looked at the source of the second voice. Hikaru was at my side, clutching my arms gently but with a strong reassurance. "We're gonna make sure you're okay! We promise!"

I just looked at him before turning to what else was new. Kyoya was on the phone talking in a clipped, irritated tone as Tamaki paced frantically between him and where I lay. There was a strange sound in the background, a lot like the sounds from the fight I'd just been in, but cleaner sounding and more grunts from the thugs. I fleetingly wondered where Honey and Mori were at.

"Don't worry, Shay, we're getting you to the hospital right now," Kaoru said as soothingly as he could.

That sparked me to life. No, I can't go there, I thought as I pulled myself up sharply before the whiplash hit me. No, I just have to go home and I'll think of something to explain this. I can't go to the hospital, I can't let my parents know what I do, I can't.

"What're you doing?" Hikaru cried out angrily, gripping my arms a little harder to keep me on the ground. My head was spinning too much for me to get anywhere far, anyway.

"No," I mumbled, amazed at how large my tongue seemed to feel in my mouth. The taste of iron was strong enough to sicken me, and I spit before I continued. "I can't go to the hospital. Please don't take me there."

"What?" the twins cried in unison.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Hikaru yelled.

"Of course you're going!" Kaoru added.

"No, I can't," I mumbled, bringing a hand to my head to ease the pain. I pulled it away when I felt something wet and saw blood for some reason. I numbly shook my head before continuing. "I can't let my parents know. If they know, they'll worry and they'll be hurt. I can't let them worry; I can't let them hurt. I can't, I can't, I can't," I rambled on, already devastated at the thought of my parents finding out. The shame and disappointment in their eyes would be too much to handle.

I saw the twins' faces crumple and they stared at me. I caught on immediately. "What?" I asked desperately. "Is there something wrong with my parents? What happened to them?" My heart was beginning to pound again at the thought of them and I felt a sense of dread, though I had no idea why.

"Shay. . ." Kaoru trailed off, gripping me to his body tighter. I looked between him and his brother a few times, confused, before the spinning in my head was too much to take.

I looked down at the ground as the realization slowly crawled over me.

There were no parents left to worry, to hurt. They were gone, engulfed in flames like I was in pain. How I could've forgotten something like that eluded me.

I felt my eyes begin to water, my diaphragm shaking at the dry sobs and chokes I was holding back. Remembering I was in front of other people I forced my tears back, allowing my body to tremble uncontrollably at my revelation.

"No," I whispered, letting go of all the tension in my body and falling into Kaoru's chest. "They're gone . . . no. I can't. . . I can't. . ." I began breathing heavily to keep everything from exploding from me, but it was hard. The stars and black spots were coming back, so much larger than before.

Hikaru and Kaoru were doing their best to help me relax and calm down, but I couldn't hear their words anymore. I was now completely enveloped in my loss. Taking a few shaking breaths, I managed to whisper, "But . . . I miss them . . . so much. . ." I felt more pressure around me from the brothers as they attempted to comfort me.

The blackness covered my vision and as the sounds began to fade I clung onto the knowledge that the brothers were there with me. I felt safe with them and knew they wouldn't let me get hurt. With that, I let go of the single string I held onto and dropped soundlessly into black.

-O-

A/N: You know what, I feel like this chapter doesn't even need a little bit at the end. Let your minds go crazy with what you think will happen! Uhm, and yeah, sorry, I tried my best to get more out earlier, so this is really long to make up for it. You know, senior year, being in college classes, computer breaking, figuring out Uni stuff, a trip to Paris in a few weeks…yeah, I've had a little bit to keep my mind busy. Again, I'm sorry! :/ I haven't been writing much so I'll probably only update a few times over the summer. However, I'll try to get a follow up chapter on this one soon…so…enjoy!

I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Ouran High School Host Club.